


After the War

by boyoon



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Black Character(s), Eldia (Shingeki no Kyojin), F/F, F/M, Gay Armin Arlert, Gay Character, I Don't Even Know, Interracial Relationship, Marley (Shingeki no Kyojin), Multi, My First AO3 Post, Original Character(s), Post-War, Secret Relationship, To Read, What Have I Done
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-28 18:46:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30143949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boyoon/pseuds/boyoon
Summary: After the Marley and Eldian war, Reiner Braun and some of his friends need a place to stay. Following finding an illegal facility for him and his friends to live in, he meets a girl. As he struggles with his split personality and PTSD, you get to follow Reiner on the road to recovery as he slowly falls in love with the mysterious girl.
Relationships: Mikasa Ackerman/Annie Leonhart, Reiner Braun/Original Female Character(s)





	After the War

**Author's Note:**

> As you know, this is indeed my FIRST AO3 post, so please don't expect much. Also, I will have no schedule for updating as ideas come to me randomly. I hope you all enjoy today's chapter :).

Surrounded in darkness and silence, he slowly opened his hazel eyes. The air had the smell of flames although there was not one in sight. He looked down and noticed the wet underwear he had on. He looked around the dark room with confusion as he bent down. He touched the water he was standing on. _‘I can walk on water?’_ he thought while touching the water on his finger. Of course he was confused, he woke up in a dark room with damp underwear, would you not be confused as well? Suddenly, he heard a faint cry.

“Dad! Please, no! I’m sorry, leave her alone!” He heard a young boy cry.

He ran towards the source of the sound and there the boy was, alone in the darkness as a tear fell on the teddy bear he so closely held to him.

“Reiner?” The young boy asked.

“Reiner?” The man questioned. He recognized the boy's outfit. It was an adult Reiner talking to a younger him.

Television screens began to open all around him showing his memories, the good and the bad. His pulse began racing and his breathing increased. Consuming so many memories overwhelmed him. He covered his ears and yelled, “Stop!”

The television screens vanished and there was silence in the black vacant area. The young boy walked towards the distressed adult.

“Who are you? Are you a loyal Marleyan warrior, or an Eldian soldier?” The young boy questioned.

“What? What do you mean?”

“What have we become, Reiner? Are you even Reiner, or are you Marco?”

“Shut up!” adult Reiner commanded.

Reiner began hitting his head, desperately trying to convince himself that this was all in his head. He continued to hit on his head until he was interrupted by a knock on the door.

Quickly, he sat up, breathing heavily and touching the damp shirt he had on. He sighed and put his face in his hands.

"Come in!" he said with an annoyed tone.

The door opened slowly as Reiner lay face down on his stomach to hide the sweat stains he had on his shirt.

"It's noon, lunch is ready. If you want to eat, I suggest you do it now before someone steals your plate." A girl with a sweet, honey voice suggested.

Reiner had never heard a voice that was so soothing to the ears. He felt as though that she could talk about quantum physics for hours but still listen. The girl quickly closed the door as Reiner tried to sit up to see who it was. He knew he hadn't heard that voice before, so he thought it might've been someone new.

He brushed his teeth and changed his clothes to head downstairs and eat with his friends. The war was a traumatizing experience, but Reiner had his friends to help him through it all. He was forever grateful to them for the kindness they showed him, despite what he had done.

He went downstairs to the loud cafeteria. He grabbed his plate and began searching the room with his eyes to find where his friends were sitting. When spotting them, he sat down next to them and began quietly eating his food as his friends were conversing and laughing. Annie looked over to Reiner with a concerned expression and signaled for the group to be quiet.

"Are you okay, Reiner?" Annie asked.

Reiner looked up with his mouth full with a confused expression on his face. He quickly chewed his food to answer the question. "I'm fine. It's just I heard someone voice earlier and I cant seem to get it out of my head," Reiner said with a frustrated expression.

"Reiner... have you fallen in love with someone because of their voice?" Mikasa said while trying to hold back her laugh.

"The last time this happened was with Historia. Are you prepared to get your heart broken again?" Eren asked as the table burst with laughter.

"Guys, guys, give him a break. Maybe a little romance is what he needs after all this." Armin said, noticing the uncomfortable energy around Reiner.

"I do hope you find the girl though, there aren't many women here so your search should be easy," Annie said sincerely.

Reiner flashed his teeth and a little air came out of his nose as he was thinking about how much his friends cared for him, even though they tease him often.

"Later today let's go exercise Reiner. Just you and me." Eren said.

"Why?" Reiner asked

"You've lost a lot of weight since the war, and I know how much you're suffering. How about we exercise to get the war off our minds, rather than staying in the rooms all day?"

"Sure, anything to get my mind off of it," Reiner said as he was finishing up his food.

"Have those dream terrors come back?" Eren asked.

"I don't even know at this point," Reiner mumbled.

"What was that?" Armin inquired.

"Nothing. I think I'll go look for that girl. See you later?" Reiner countered, trying to avoid the question.

"Alright," Armin said with a concerned tone.

\------------------------

As the sky began to dim, Reiner approached Eren to tell him he was going outside to go for a run. Eren nodded and told Reiner he was going to meet him soon. Reiner changed into tighter clothes so he could run comfortably. The landscape was beautiful. The grass was a healthy green and the smell of the freshly cut grass was satisfying. For the first time in a while, Reiner was excited to do something. He began to slowly jog around the plot and eventually built up his speed. After a couple of minutes of running, he sat down on the grass to relax.

As he was admiring the purple sky, he heard someone sing. The voice was a beautiful alto that sounded just like honey. It was unlike anything he ever heard. He noticed the similarity in the person's voice with the girl from earlier. 'It must be her' he thought. He stood up and walked towards where he heard the faint voice.

_♪ Stars shining bright above you ♪_

As he walked towards the voice, the sound became louder. And much more beautiful.

_♪ Night breezes seem to whisper 'I love you' ♪_

_♪ Birds singing in the sycamore tree ♪_

_♪ Dream a little dream of me ♪_

Reiner sat down on the ground as quietly as possible, to not interrupt her mesmerizing singing. As he sat down, he sat on a nail and let out an 'ouch'.

"Who's there?" The girl asked as her eyebrows scrunched.  
"Damn," Reiner mumbled. He got up and walked towards the girl, reaching his hand out.

"I'm Reiner Braun, and you are?"

The girl looked at his hand with a confused expression. Was she supposed to shake it?

"Not interested." The girl hissed as she was turning around to leave.

"What makes you think I'm interested?" Reiner said as he was scratching his head.

"For what reason would an attractive white man like you approach a black girl like me?"

"I'm not like that," Reiner assured her.

"They always say that," The girl muttered under her breath as she was walking.

Reiner followed suit in an attempt to make conversation.

"That song you were singing, my mother used to sing it all the time to me. It's not really a popular song, how do you know it?"

"My father, he liked to sing and this song was one of his favorites, at least from what I could remember about him."

"Did he pass?"

"I don't know."

"Oh," Reiner said trying to think of something comforting to say. "I'm sorry-"

Reiner was cut off by a man from afar telling the girl to come back inside.

"Reina! Come back inside, it's getting late!"

"Coming!" She shouted.

She waved goodbye for a split second and ran off as a smile grew on Reiner's face. _'Reina'_ he thought.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! Thanks for reading. If you have any tips or feedback to improve please comment below!!


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